Syria Conflict

If only it were so easy. The leader of a war-torn Middle Eastern country commits an atrocity; the West removes him. Problem solved. At least, that's the way Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to see the future in Syria. The only problem is that Trudeau has forgotten the many other players who have a stake in what happens in Syria.

In the five years since the uprising-turned-civil-war, the Syrian conflict has become the "biggest humanitarian crisis of our time." The United Nations estimates more than 250,000 people have been killed (this figure is widely disputed among various international organizations), while another 6.6. million have been internally displaced.

I have a lot to be thankful for. Good health, a loving family, a home and a gratifying job. But like many, I often take these blessings for granted. This year, however, is different. Today I am thankful for having shared a cup of coffee with Syrian women refugees in Sawere, a small town in Lebanon's Bekaa valley.

In past refugee crises, Canada has responded swiftly and assertively. From the aftermath of World War II, through crises in Hungary in 1956, Chile in 1973, and Southeast Asia in the late 1970s, Canadians responded generously, receiving on each of those occasions tens of thousands of refugees into our communities. In 1999, Canada took extraordinary measures to evacuate thousands of refugees from Kosovo. Why should we do less now?

Years ago, when I was young and reckless, I backpacked solo through Syria. One morning, at the bus station in Homs, I had to make a spur of the moment decision; I could go west, towards the sea and Lebanon, or I could go east, to the ancient city of Palmyra. I turned west. I never saw Palmyra. The 2000 year old city is now in the hands of ISIS.

OTTAWA - The Harper government faced heated demands Wednesday to justify under international law its plans to expand its ISIL bombing campaign to Syria. Here are five things to consider about the rule...

The Syrian conflict is entering its fifth horrific year of escalating violence, with little sign of ending.
More than 200,000 people have been killed, 10,000 of them children. Today over 12.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 5.6 million children. Almost 11 million Syrians have been displaced within and outside Syria, including 3.3 million refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. More than half of the refugee population are children, and 114,000 children have been born as refugees.

When I asked in question period on February 20th whether the Minister of International Development would personally attend the donor conference, pledge, and champion 5.6 million Syrian children, Canada's Parliamentary Secretary replied that: "We are still in consideration of whether or not the minister is going to attend that."

TORONTO - Reports from Lebanon say that a Lebanese-Canadian, who has been on the FBI's most-wanted list of terror suspects, has been killed in Syria.One media report published online says Faouzi Ayoub...

The international community must strengthen its efforts to work towards a political solution to the Syrian civil war. It cannot afford to lose focus, as the children of Syria cannot afford another year of suffering, another year without education, healthcare, and protection. There are no enemy children, and we must do whatever it takes to save lives.

PARIS - Violent extremists who seek to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad may instead have hurt negotiations to replace him.That's frustrating Western diplomats who continue to push for Assad's o...

The international community has not only failed to live up to its responsibility to protect civilians from mass atrocity crimes but its very inaction has encouraged escalating criminality by the Assad regime. With the crossing of the red line on chemical weapons use refocusing international attention on Syria, we risk losing credibility -- and more Syrians risk losing their lives -- should we not start now taking meaningful action to protect civilians in Syria. To that end, it is critically important that any intervention adhere to the requirements of international law.

WASHINGTON - The ghosts of Iraq are looming over both the White House and the American public this week as U.S. President Barack Obama decides whether to launch attacks on Syria after it purportedly g...

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada has no plans for a military intervention in Syria but it supports its allies who are contemplating forceful action against that country's regime.Harp...

Syrian rebels have long accused the government they are fighting of using chemical weapons, and this week the claims intensified, as pictures of lifeless children, purported victims of another deadly...

The footage of purported victims of recent chemical weapons attacks in Syria shows a distressing number of children's corpses... but then both Saddam Hussein and Hezbollah have been accused of stockpiling such corpses in the past to reserve for media events. The Syrian National Front might be no different.

BEIRUT - Syrian regime forces fired intense artillery and rocket barrages Wednesday on the eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus, in what two pro-opposition groups claimed was a "poisonous gas" att...

When Ariya slips into the car, she must carry two sets of clothes: a hijab, and western garb. Without both, she risks arrest, beating, and rape. Ariya believes the trip is worth the risk -- she counsels some of the estimated 1,500 Syrian women who have been victims of sexual assault in Syria's bloody civil war.

BEIRUT - A U.N. report on Syria said Tuesday there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that limited quantities of toxic chemicals have been used as weapons in at least four attacks in Syria's civil wa...

The stormy winter weather that affected a number of areas in the Middle East last week also struck Damascus. For people here the inclement weather is especially hard to bear given the drastic shortage of heating fuel and cooking gas, and the worsening situation with regard to electricity.

As the civil war in Syria continues, a significant number of Syrians remain loyal to the embattled government of Bashar Al-Assad. One Christian friend explained to me that although they didn't like the current regime, they considered it inevitable that, should it fall, Syria would descend into a state of violent chaos reminiscent of Afghanistan or Somalia.

To the East of the old city there is a busy road that tanks and other military vehicles often drive along as they travel between the nearest base and whichever suburb they happen to be fighting in on a given day. Recently, a friend saw a tank drive down this road in a convoy with some other vehicles. On its side its crew had had spray-painted, in big white Arabic letters, "Assad! -- or we destroy the country."

While many Syrians have suffered immensely during the current conflict, others continue to live much as before. One week, a young single mother and her two-year-old son came to stay in my house for a few days, her home destroyed and ransacked. Later that week, I went out and met a western friend for a drink in the old city. All of the girls were expensively and revealingly dressed and danced with their male companions seemingly unencumbered by their towering heels, while everyone was knocking back a range of exotic cocktails and shots.

The sound of violence in surrounding suburbs has become a feature of life in Central Damascus. While the central parts of the capital have, for the most part, been spared the fighting that has beset some outer suburbs in recent months, residents here are frequently reminded of their precarious situation by the sound of explosions and gunfire emanating from surrounding suburbs.

Reem Hameed desperately scours the internet each day for news about her sister and other Iraqi refugees who have been accepted to come to Canada but who are now trapped by the conflict in Syria. Hame...

BEIRUT - Clashes erupted in Syria on Sunday, killing at least 15 civilians and six government troops, activists said. Isolated and faced with a possible civil war, Syria appeared to be bending toward...